This year is a very exciting year for myself and other fans of The Legend of Zelda franchise. March is the 6 year anniversary of the release of the acclaimed Breath of the Wild (BotW), and just two months later will be the release of the newest entry, Tears of the Kingdom (TotK). Several other Zelda games will be making their way onto the Switch, so there is a lot of exciting news for fans of the franchise.
100%-ing Update
A few months ago I had an article where I recounted some of my experiences with 100%-ing various games, including BotW. I’ve made some progress since last time, including finding all 900 of the Koroks, little forest spirits hidden around the map. In order to officially 100% the game, I’ll need to finish all of the 120 shrines and make sure I’ve gone to every named location on the map. Depending on how much time I have after the fact, I’ll work on some of the unofficial goals, like finishing the side quests. After that, I’ll move on to collecting and upgrading all of the armor sets in the game and completing the DLC content. I’ve been having a lot of fun working on this game and I continue to find new things that I had never discovered before.
NSO+ Updates
Nintendo has released versions of their older games before, usually available on their virtual consoles. Select games from the NES, SNES, and N64 are available to play, including two Zelda titles: Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask. In February, Nintendo announced the release of the GameBoy and GameBoy Advanced virtual consoles, which means that more Zelda games will be coming to the Switch. Currently, Link’s Awakening and Minish Cap are available, with the Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons games coming soon.
This is very exciting news, meaning that a large majority of Zelda games are now or will be available to play on the Switch. On the Switch, the original two games, A Link to the Past, Links Awakening Remastered, Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition and Age of Calamity, Skyward Sword, and all of the above mentioned games are/will be options to play. Now is a perfect time to work on completing any games that one hasn’t played yet. Sadly, Twilight Princess and Wind Waker have not made their way to the Switch, although there is always a chance that it may happen soon.
I myself am very excited to spend spring break playing Minish Cap. When I’m not working on BotW, that is.
Tears of the Kingdom: Hopes, Expectations, Theories
Lastly in this little update: Tears of the Kingdom! I am so so excited for this game to release. I can already tell that it will be the highlight of my year. Last February, Nintendo released another trailer for the game, teasing more enemies, mechanics, and some hints of lore sprinkled in. Here are some of the things I’m most looking forward to, and some of the things that I’m really hoping for.
The New Trailer
We got a lot out of this most recent trailer. We heard lines given from Ganondorf and Zelda, both teasing elements of the plot, new enemies and stronger versions of the ones we have, and scenes from seemingly important events. It is unclear where all of these scenes take place, but we know a couple of main things that will be happening. We know about the corrupting of Link’s arm already, but we saw teases of Link grabbing the hand of someone, perhaps Zelda, or maybe the princess from 10,000 years ago. We saw the figure of someone who is also theorized to be either Zelda or the ancient princess. At one point Zelda falls into a chasm as the ground below her collapses, whereupon Link throws aside the Master Sword, the Blade of Evil’s Bane itself, to jump after her. We also saw more shots of weapons, the ways that the world has changed, and some of the new mechanics, like vehicles.
While a lot of new things have been shown, there is still so much that we don’t know about this game, and I honestly love that. Playing BotW for the first time was an incredible experience, and I would do pretty much anything for another experience like it. Nintendo leaving so much in the dark means that there is so much for us to discover organically. While the trailers are great for keeping me hyped and involved, there’s not much more I feel I need to see before the game itself is released.
Expectations and Hopes
While I’m fine waiting for the game itself, that doesn’t mean I can’t also excitedly theorize. There is obviously a lot of focus on the new sky islands, the new features seen on the old map, and the snippets we’ve seen underground. I’m curious to see how the three areas will interact with one another. Will they all be open world? Will they be seamlessly explorable? Will they be treated as their own unique areas? I’m unsure, but I hope that they are interconnected and have unique puzzles and themes.
As far as the plot goes, I really don’t have a lot of ideas. But I sure have a lot of questions! What’s the sequence of events regarding what scenes we’ve seen? How does the game start? How much is Zelda present for? Is there any sort of time traveling involved like many, like myself, have theorized? Will this be the final Zelda game, at least timeline wise? Who knows! But I sure am super pumped to see how it all unfolds.
Overall, I’m expecting this game to be a blast. I can’t wait to play through it, watch my favorite streamers find ways to break the game, and experience another game that’s like no other.
Final Thoughts
This year is huge for Zelda fans. I know I can hardly wait for all of the amazing content that will be provided for us, be it new games, easier access to old games, or the nostalgia of replaying ones and making the connections. I can’t believe I have so much left to wait, but, in the meantime, I’ll keep playing other games in the franchise to tide me over for the next few months.